The subtleties of the layout of the bath

Almost every Russian person has ever been in a bath. For some, the sensations that it brings are so pleasant and memorable that they are thinking about building their own bath. To do this, of course, is not as easy as it seems, because there are certain subtleties of the layout of the bath, which must be paid attention to.

Taking a steam bath is a wonderful Russian tradition that goes back to our distant ancestors. She still does not lose her popularity, moreover, she is a part of traditional Russian culture.

First of all, a bath is a washing room. Also, this word means the whole procedure, the whole ritual of washing. One of the features of washing in a bath is a high level of humidity at the same high temperature (about 80 degrees). At this temperature, the pores open, which contributes, firstly, to the competent cleansing of the skin and hair, and secondly, to the removal of toxins and toxins.

When building a bath, it is important to decide on the method of heating the bath. There are two of them: "in white" and "in black".

• In the first case, a stove is kindled inside the room, which heats the entire room. Smoke comes out through a door or any other opening. Of the advantages of this option, they also highlight the fact that such a bath disinfects the room and allows you to get rid of harmful insects. Perhaps this is the most comfortable type of bath, especially if you have no experience in building and bathing in a bath.

• In the smoke sauna, instead of a hearth, a stove and a water tank are used. They also often use hot stones on the grate, on which water is poured. Steam is generated much more abundantly in this way, moreover, as doctors confirm, it acquires healing properties. There is no chimney in the smoke sauna, and the smoke circulates in the room, warming it up. The walls and ceiling in such a bathhouse are always smoky, hence the name. This is a traditional Old Russian version of the bath.

The stage of its planning is of great importance in the construction of a bath. It was at this time that the size of the bath was determined (5 by 6, 4 by 7, 2 by 2 or 8 by 9) and the number of rooms. Often it is too difficult to fix something with improvised methods, so it is very important to think over everything at the planning stage. For example, a "white" bath can be easily made from a "black" bath: you need to bring out the pipe and equip the stove with a vault. But the opposite will not work.

Traditionally, a bath should have two rooms: a dressing room and a steam room itself. They can be combined or be two different rooms. However, the options do not end there. As with building a home, there are a myriad of projects that can inspire you.

The bathhouse can be attached to a private house in the city or located at a summer cottage. It can be a separate building or be part of a house, its separate room or, for example, a small corner room (along with a bathroom and a bathroom).

A bath with a pool is considered a whole bath complex. Building it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. On sale there is a huge number of bowls for pools of various shapes and sizes. You can place the pool in a steam room, necessarily fencing it off with a wall from the steam room, or attach it to the main room of the bath as another room, decorate it with glass walls or hang a solid roof or a polycarbonate canopy on top.The main thing is to remember that the steam room and the pool must be separated by a wall so that moist warm air and air at room temperature do not conflict.

There are also no strong restrictions in the design of the pool. You can decorate the bottom with mosaic tiles, interior lighting, or even place some seaweed there.

If you consider yourself a lover of everything new and original, we advise you to take a closer look at the new product - a cascade pool, which many simply call a waterfall. It looks like this: thanks to a closed circulation system, water is supplied from top to bottom, then it rises again through the pipes and so, like a waterfall, falls endlessly down. The size of this pool will not be so huge, but it will look impressive, especially if you look at stones or 3D images with photographs of seascapes as a decor.

It is not possible to attach a cascade pool to an already finished bath. It should be planned even at the design stage, because it has a serious impact on the water supply, ventilation system, as well as the load on the power grid.

But if the soul requires a swing, then a two-story bath will be the best option. In this case, zoning occurs as follows: on the ground floor there is a steam room, a washing room, a boiler room, if desired, a pool and utility rooms. On the second floor there are living rooms, a recreation room, a shower room, a dining room, a library, a billiard room or a bar.

The second floor can be safely called entertainment, which is especially important if you are used to inviting guests to the bathhouse and gathering here in large companies. Moreover, these baths are often used to make real residential houses or spend the whole summer cottage here.

In the case of a two-story bathhouse, a staircase can present a certain difficulty. In fact, it will be correct to put it in the break room or in the dressing room, so that moisture does not get into the upper rooms. Never place the stairs on a terrace or outside. It is also not necessary that she walk through the balcony, because in winter it will not be very pleasant to climb in the cold.

Baths can vary dramatically in size: 5x5, 5x6, 4x7, 2x2, 6x5, 8x9, 2x2, 6x8, 8x8, 6x10 and so on. In general, the size of the bath only affects how many people should be there at the same time, and how many rooms you want to have there. You are not obliged to build your bathhouse following the example of a public one - small, small and narrow. The bathhouse is a place of rest, relaxation, and it should be comfortable just for you.

When we talk about finishing and planning a bath, we must remember that in this case a number of requirements are imposed on the materials. They must be resistant to high temperatures, hot air, high humidity, water. They must be hygienic and environmentally friendly, as well as completely safe for humans: not emitting toxins or allergens. Wood seems to be the best option, but there are a number of quite suitable materials.

Bath planning begins with the stage of choosing the type and material for the foundation. So, baths are usually located on a strip (in the case of soft clay soil or fine sand) or columnar (if the post is stony, dense) foundation. But if we are talking about a site with a high level of groundwater, then it is better to play it safe and choose a foundation on screw piles.

A traditional Russian bath immediately appears to us as a wooden one. It can be a finished frame or timber, a rounded log. The most popular varieties are maple, linden, alder, white ash, birch, white oak and Caucasian oak. The material must be treated with specialized means: fire-fighting and antiseptic.

Brick can be used as the main material for the construction of a bath, which greatly increases its service life.Moreover, brick walls are thicker than wooden ones, and their thermal conductivity is strikingly higher. Also, a brick building often does not require additional external finishing, because the stone already looks very presentable.

In addition to brick and wood, there are a number of materials that are suitable for the construction of a bath. Cinder block, foam block, aerated concrete, although they have less thermal conductivity than brick, are easy to process and can help save a sufficient amount of time during direct construction.

The roof is planned, as it is being built, the very last one. The roof is the final touch to the entire construction. It can be dual-slope or single-slope, mansard type or ordinary. The attic can also be used to store something like bath accessories or seasonal items. Tiles, metal tiles, slate are used as materials.

Progress and imagination of designers do not stand still, so more and more often you can find baths with a pool, and with a font, and two-story, and one-story, with a toilet and a bath. There are practically no restrictions. Although, of course, electronics and appliances near steam rooms should be placed with care.

It is believed that one person in a traditional Russian steam room should have about 5-6 square meters. Accordingly, its size should be calculated individually. However, we do not recommend planning a sauna for more than 15 people. Remember that it is best when the steam room has direct access to the dressing room.

Taking into account the sewage system, right next to the steam room, you can equip a toilet or shower room (otherwise called a washing room). Not everyone, especially in winter, dares to dive into an ice hole or a river after a bath. Many people will prefer to simply plunge into the bathroom or take a quiet shower.

Some furniture should also be present in the bath. Of course, you will need benches (preferably portable) or bunk shelves for comfortable lying. The same set includes hot water tanks (for example, heated by a stove) and a drain. For a dressing room, it is better to buy a set of a table and a pair of benches or chairs, as well as a sink or sink, towel holders, a hanger.

As for the finish, wood is considered the most popular option. This is an environmentally friendly and completely safe material, which is firmly entrenched in the perception of Russians about a traditional bath. It is very important that the lining itself is of high quality. Overdried will swell during water procedures, and wet after drying will form cracks. Conifers are completely unsuitable for the steam room, as they get very hot.

Hardwoods are often chosen for the steam room: birch, ash, linden, aspen, larch. They do not glow from high temperatures and do not emit any odor. They are not afraid of fungus, they dry quickly and are not subject to decay. Ash stands apart (due to the combination of external beauty and good characteristics), as well as light brown alder, which has a perfectly flat surface and does not absorb foreign odors.

The washing room or dressing room can be completely trimmed with conifers. Pine or spruce lining is ideal. The temperature here is not so high that the tree begins to emit resin, but it is sufficient for the coniferous aroma to delight the soul and soothe. Also, phytoncides released along with the smell have a health-improving effect on a person: they increase resistance to infectious diseases. Therefore, such a bath has a doubly useful result. By the way, the finishing of the washing room has no restrictions at all: the walls can be made of plasterboard, PVC, and tiles.

For a relaxation room, pine is an ideal option. Firstly, its palette ranges from pale yellow to reddish shades, and secondly, it is available everywhere and is easy to process, paint, polish.The pine pattern is quite suitable as a decorative one, and over time this wood only becomes more beautiful.

Spruce is also suitable here. Working with her is a little more difficult. If the pine is actually perfectly smooth, then the spruce has a sufficient number of knots. It is also more difficult to process, but it contains less resin, which makes it a little safer.

A universal option (for a washing room, for a steam room, and for any other rooms) is white or Caucasian oak. Due to the large amount of tannins, it does not lose its strength even when exposed to high temperatures and humidity.

Before you start processing the tree, you need to bring it to the bathhouse and leave it there (at least for a day). This is called acclimatization of the material, and it is necessary so that the wood gets used to the temperature and does not change its properties after finishing.

The floors, by analogy with the walls, can be made of wood. It is also not prohibited to use concrete or ceramics. But artificial materials cannot be used categorically. They have the ability to release substances that are not the most useful for humans when heated. By the way, you can install a floor heating system in the bath. Of course, not in a steam room, but, for example, in a relaxation room or dressing room.

You shouldn't skimp on interior decoration - it has a rather important function. It depends on her how long the bath will serve, and it is she who protects you from burns, insulates and waterproofs the room. Among other things, interior decoration also plays a decorative role, and the release of healing scents has a positive effect on your health.

The bathhouse should look attractive not only inside, but also outside. Of course, the landscape is of great importance here (the decoration of the bathhouse located in the forest can be strikingly different from the decoration in the city or village boundaries) and the size of the site (the number of acres). All this should be noted on the plan or drawing at the planning stage. The difference will also be in the design solution (in what style of bath you want), in the materials and in the location of the bath.

The entrance is traditionally done from the south. - so that in frosty winter weather you do not have to wade through the snowdrifts, because on the southern side they melt faster. Windows should face west. This will provide more light in the interior. If there is a large reservoir with clean water on the site (a river or a pond), then an excellent solution would be to locate a bath room 15-20 meters from it. Thus, you will have an unlimited source of water.

As a rule, one of several types of materials is chosen for finishing the bath outside.

• Siding. Vinyl or metal, it is durable and affordable, easy to install, stable. Available in a wide range of colors, suitable for frame and brick baths.
• Wooden or plastic lining, as well as imitation of a bar. They differ in ease of installation and affordable price, suitable for brick buildings. Not a bad commercial option.
• Fake diamond. One of the most durable materials, suitable for the most daring and interesting solutions.

You can also take a closer look at the block house, edged and non-edged boards, plaster and facade tiles. Remember that brick baths can be faced immediately after the completion of construction, while buildings made of timber and wood - only after a year and a half, since the building must be stable.

Often, in order to determine what you want, you need to look at some examples.

1. Not a bad option for a bath with a swimming pool. As you can see, the steam room does not take up much space here. Pay attention to the doors. From the steam room you will be taken to the dressing room or the pool (depending on whether you want to continue bathing procedures or finish). From there you can go to the bathroom. There are no direct passages from the steam room to the relaxation room or pool.This is done so that hot air from the steam room does not get onto the electronics and does not mix with the air at room temperature.
2. If you do not have such a large room, take a closer look at the next option. It is designed for a 5x4 bath and includes only everything you need. As you can see, the shower room here can also be used as a changing room. Pay attention to the doors again - the steam room does not have direct access to the relaxation room.

For the intricacies of planning a bath, see the next video.